In this post, we’ll look at what employers can do to create safety policies that protect both lone workers and larger groups of employees.
Workplace vehicle accidents
During 2013, transportation incidents caused 2 out of every 5 fatal work injuries in the United States. Employers can’t always stop accidents, but communicating with employees can help when things do go wrong.
If workers travelling in a vehicle get into an accident, they may not be able to communicate. Scheduling a defined check-in time can help employers know when their employees need help, along with equipping them with GPS safety monitoring equipment like the Loner M6. The Loner M6 will automatically signal an alert in a Missed Check-In situation or if the employee remained motionless for a set period of time. By using GPS technology, your "time to assist" is drastically reduced due to knowing their exact location.
Isolated locations
Often the danger to employees comes from their environment. Poor air quality, chemical, and electrical dangers affect groups of employees and lone workers in the same way. In these situations, just having a panic button is not enough.
Workers who can’t call for help are often the ones needing help the most. Using the buddy system only works when you can guarantee that one employee will always be safe. A check-in policy can help make sure that groups of isolated employees get help when they need it. With the new Loner G7, you have the ability to provide "mustering" instructions and awareness to groups of employees at one time, thus providing an enhanced safety procedure.
Threats from public violence
Threats from violence are a danger that employees working with the public face every day. Even in a crowd, employees can become isolated from each other at times. Relying on employees to look out for each other isn’t always an effective safety policy.
Any time that an employee can become isolated, you need to consider them a lone worker. Plan for your employees to communicate when they’re out of sight, and make backup plans for employees who can’t communicate at all.
Building an inclusive safety policy
An effective workplace safety policy means being able to account for every employee. The next time you plan for the threats in your workplace, think about groups of employees who could be lone workers. Reducing the risk to employees can be as simple as using a lone worker safety policy. A lone worker system like those offered by BLACKRIDGE Solutions can help. Providing Emergency, Silent, Missed Check-In, No Motion and Fall Detection alerting capabilities, inside or outside cell coverage ensures your employees safety at all times..
To find out how BLACKRIDGE Solutions can protect the lone workers in your workplace, call (778) 686-5799 or info@blackridgesolutions.com.